Canada

The Ontario Power Authority is offering North America’s first and most generous feed-in tariff.

For solar PV projects, Co-operative Members can buy Preference Shares to enable the Co-op to raise the equity to buy & install the equipment, and to give those Members a dividend based on the number of Shares that they hold after projects are connected to the grid and generate revenue.

In development for two years now, SolarShare is a co-operative that will build multiple rooftop solar- electric projects of up to 250kW in size, which it will finance, develop, maintain and operate. All Ontarians will be able to invest in the SolarShare projects, which are aimed at generating up to 8% return on investments.

WindShare is TREC’s for-profit co-op which owns and operates the 660kW Exhibition Place wind turbine in Toronto

LakeWind will be TREC’s 20 MW wind farm, slated for construction in 2013.

Advocates for the common law principle of right-of-way applied to electric power. A 10 kilowatt demonstration project, owned in trust, has been proposed. The array will produce revenue for energy efficiency in low income households.

A solar power system installed through California Solar Initiative’s Multi-family Affordable Solar Housing (MASH) program. Residents at each property will receive 50 percent of the energy produced by the solar system free of charge.
Real Goods Solar hired residents to install the solar panels. MASH program details http://www.gosolarcalifornia.ca.gov/affordable/mash.php

CEC’s initial 80 kW for-profit community project has been followed by an 868 kW project at the Garfield County Airport, working through Holy Cross Rural Electric Association. A 2 MW solar farm near El Jebel is in the planning stages. Subscribers join a limited liability corporation and gain ownership of equipment.

Utility owned 10 kilowatt project opened in May 2009. Customers receive a 25-year lease on a specific solar panel, gaining approximately 3% return.

Provides bill credit of $.09 per kWh produced, 500W minimum purchase. Solar garden must be between 100kW and 500kW in size, and each garden must be owned by a different entity. Up to 2 MW will be offered in this pilot program.

District of Columbia

Community solar group which has installed panels on over 100 homes and has spawned sister co-ops in 6 other Washington, DC neighborhoods. The idea is that members will merely have to sign up—and they will get solar power installed on their roof.

Georgia

Eight LEED Platinum certified homes. Southern Company engineered and installed a hybrid metering system for the neighborhood. With this system, the homes will be billed for electricity at the regular residential rate, but will have a second meter to register the production of electricity from their solar roof systems. Georgia Power will “buy back” electricity produced by the solar panels.

Maryland

21.9 kilowatt system installed on a church- dedication June 12, 2010. Members join a Limited Liability Corporation and receive a return on investment. Their next project is an installation on the nearby University Park Elementary School.

Massachusetts

Members in this Cape Cod community join for-profit LLC and receive proportional returns from a community solar system under Massachusetts’s Green Communities Act. In May, 2011, town voters authorized the use of municipal facilities for solar arrays, including the town landfill.

Buyer’s co-op of efficiency and renewable solutions serving New England and New York . Uses a “neighbor-to-neighbor” method to spread renewable energy solutions. As of August 2011, has over 390 members, 7,000 supporters, and has raised $300,000 in members’ equity capital. Is constructing a 3.5 million gallon per year sustainable biodiesel plant.

New Mexico

Built New Mexico’s largest solar array (in 2008) at University of New Mexico. Starting in 2011, community solar projects will be built to provide power for specific numbers of homes within a neighborhood and subsidized by KCEC. The residents will own a portion of these arrays. the cost of a one-panel share might be $571, so the buyer would pay 2-3 cents more per kilowatt for renewable energy, but also receive a one-time tax credit of about $230.

North Carolina

Group has installed a 2.4 kW community system on The Greenhouse, as well as a 10 kilowatt system on the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Asheville, NC, as part of the Appalachian Institute for Renewable Energy.

Utah

Community solar array completed January 2009. Participation will be sold in whole and half units of 1 kilowatt installed solar PV capacity. Purchasers of SunSmart will own the unit for a minimum of 19 years, when the panels will be evaluated to determine if they need to be replaced or repaired. The purchaser will have the choice to pay the cost, if there is one, and continue owning the unit or they can decline and the unit will be available for others to purchase. Homeowners can receive state tax credits for installations not on the homeowner’s property.

Washington

Conceived in 2003, with Phase I built in 2006, this project was the first of its kind in the US. A third phase added 180 thin-film modules and reservations are being taken for Phase V. Members participate in financing and receive bill credit at wholesale rates. (See also http://www.ci.ellensburg.wa.us/index.aspx?NID=310 )

Sustainable Energy for Economic Development – provides case studies in community energy, a community energy guidebook, and hosts the Community Energy Roadmap Summit each June. Is working with Seattle City Light to build 24 kW of solar on park picnic shelters, is building 130 kW in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood, and has opened applications for the Magnolia community solar project through October 31, 2011.